Australian foodservice businesses trying to move forward in the wake of COVID lockdowns and restrictions are facing a staff shortage crisis with cafes and restaurants across the country desperately seeking chefs and wait staff.
According to the Restaurant and Catering Industry Association the closure of international borders has meant Australia has missed out on its usual wave of skilled migrants that were critical to our hospitality sector.
Our customers, in every corner of the country are facing the same issue. Without a solution to the staff shortage, some are turning to staff-shortage friendly menus that are less labour intensive (and just as delicious). Here are some of the top tips from our customers:
Limit your menu
Simply, the more menu items you offer the more staff are required to prep and cook ingredients. If you limit your existing menu (even just for a little while) the strain on your existing employees will be reduced. Start by analysing your current menu and pinpointing your most popular dishes that still have a good profit margin. For most casual dining venues these are burgers, toasties, soups etc. Keep the frequently ordered items that your restaurant is known for, and remove the rest.
Change up your stock order
Of course, you can save labour by adding pre-cooked or pre-prepared foods to your menu. Or you can look at partially prepped items that will reduce prep time for your understaffed kitchen. Think about presliced burgers and lunch rolls that you can fill quickly and serve.
Limit your hours
Rather than trying to operate your normal hours with limited employees, consider reducing your opening hours to take the pressure off. This could mean choosing to open later than usual, or eliminating an entire meal altogether. If breakfast and lunch are your most profitable times, don’t be scared to close for all of dinner. It’s better to reduce hours and work with reduced staff than stay open later and put the employees you do have under the pump (which could lead to complaints).
Reduce time wasting habits
You would be astonished how many time-wasting processes there can be in a foodservice venue. Some of them may have even come from you! The best way to identify them is asking your employees, they do the same tasks every single shift so will have ideas how you can speed up operations. Ask yourself – why do we do things this way? For example, do you thaw your bread before heating it for service? What’s to stop you going straight from freezer to oven? (you can do this with our entire Speedibake range). It frees up bench space and saves hours if you need to get something out quickly.
